Living Legacy: The First Tosher Rebbe

The first Rav Meshulem Feish Lowy of Tosh (1816-1873) was known as a great tzaddik, a malach Elokim, and a great ba’al mofes. His yohrtzeit falls 28 Sivan.

He was born to his father, Rav Mordechai, who traced his lineage to Rashi Hakodosh. His father was niftar when Meshulam Feish was a young boy—but his mother put the spiritual future of her son before her own consultation, sending him off to learn in the great Hungarian yeshivos. “When you hear of my passing, you will say Kaddish for me,” were her parting words to him.

 The young lad threw himself into learning with deep, fiery intensity. His Rebbe, the Imrei Dovid (Rav Dovid Schick, a Talmid of the Chasam Sofer) would later say: “I had not known that it is possible to achieve ruach hakodesh through toil in Torah.”

 He travelled around to the tzaddikim of his generation, finding his place by the Yismach Moshe in Uhel, by the Komarna Rebbe, and by the Divrei Chaim of Sanz.

 After becoming the Rov of Tosh, he soon became known for his fiery avodah, and the way his great-grandson would say: “Di gantze zach is gevehn ah toiveh tuhn a Yid.” Neshamos would come to him from the next world in search of a tikkun, and the Saraf would perform gilgul sheleg, and conduct fasts, all in order to effect a salvation for the neshamos of the living, as well as those who had passed.

 But if his avodah during the weekdays was legendary, when Shabbos came, he was utterly transformed—to the extent that even simple people could not recognize that it was the same person. His face was completely aflame. He would say: “On Friday night, I am able to do a Tovah for a Yid—an especially auspicious time to assist those neshamos in need.

 Although he had already had children, the Saraf travelled to the tziyun of the Rebbe Elimelech of Lizensk, to daven for another son. After completing the entire tehillim with great hislahavus, he returned home and told his Rebbetzin: “We are due a mazel tov. We will soon have a son. Of course, they were soon blessed with a son, whom they named Elimelech, after the great tzaddik. He would always refer to this son as “Mein Rebbe, Reb Meilech.”

 The previous Tosher Rebbe, the namesake of the Saraf, would always repeat incredible anecdotes from the life of his holy ancestor, about his avodah, his fasts and his sigufim, and his mesirus nefesh to help Yidden. “On the occasion of the Hillula, many tzaddikim would descend on Tosh to visit the tziyun. Once, when I was a child, I jumped on the wagon carrying my grandfather (Rav Elimelech, the son of the Saraf). His face was aflame, and he could be heard groaning about the loads of tzaros of his fellow Yidden… ‘if people would only know how many yeshuos we need…’”

 Descendants of the Saraf include, of course, the current Tosher Rebbe, shlit”a. In addition, the son in law of Rav Meshulam Feish, and his successor as the Rov of Tosh, was Rav Yehosef Rottenberg, the first Kossonier Rebbe—and, through him, the Kossonier Rebbes of Boro Park, and in other communities.

These descendants—and their adherents—are a testament to the living legacy of Rebbe Meshulam Feish, the Saraf of Tosh.

 Living Legacy pays tribute to the lives of the tzaddikim of yore, a special project of BoroPark24. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to [email protected]